Caption: The Flemings of Delaware in Jeddah: Kiley has learned to cover her cheeks in the supermarket. Americans at Home in Saudi Arabia Fifth of a series BY MARJI KUNZ Free Press Staff Writer Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - Tow-headed Kiley Fleming, 3 1/2, may be the only little girl who places her hands protectively over her cheeks when entering the supermarket. It's her adjustment to the cultural changes far away from her American playmates in this city where her parents moved last November. "Pinching a child's cheeks is a term of endearment just as the women we meet at the supermarket want to run their fingers through Kiley's nearly white hair," said her mother Karen Fleming, 29, who has revised her own behavior. People here adore children and become alarmed when they see a mother chastising her child. "If you spank the child, a stranger may come over, pull you and the child apart, and shake a finger at you," Mrs. Fleming said. A child learns fast that she can get away with plenty. "In restaurant if Kiley makes a scene, I've learned to take her to the lavatory to deliver the discipline." Her husband, Dan, 30, is assistant administrator of the military hospital in Jeddah and an employee of the Whittaker Corp. (which runs it). The family is among a mushrooming group of foreign nationals who have recently moved here.
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